Solar cell phone charging stations hit city beaches

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New York beach-goers can now rely on a full cell phone battery, thanks to solar chargers unveiled Tuesday at some of the city’s most popular beaches.

ThroughAT&T Street Charge, solar cell phone charging stations are open at eight new locations in the city, including some neighborhoods hard-hit by Superstorm Sandy, like Coney Island and Rockaway.

“This initiative is a direct outgrowth of Hurricane Sandy and many of the areas where AT&T will be rolling out this week were impacted dramatically by the storm,” said AT&T New York state president Marissa Shorenstein.

As part of the program that launchedtwo weeks ago, the new beach chargers will stay at each location between three and four weeks.

The chargers will be especially useful in the event of a blackout similar to the one that left many neighborhoods in downtown Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island without power for days and weeks.

But the charging stations have other perks, as noted by Councilman Domenic M. Recchia, Jr., who represents Coney Island and Brighton Beach.

“The next time you want to Instagram the view from the Wonder Wheel, battery life is not going to be an issue,” he said in a statement.